Jason Beghe's Best (And Worst) Movies And TV Shows Outside Of Chicago PD, Ranked

One thing fans of "Chicago P.D." might not know about Jason Beghe is that he was an acting veteran before he landed his iconic role as Hank Voight. Since his first role in 1985, he's played everything from a meatheaded football player to a bumbling crook to a suave leading man to an evil henchman in the DC Animated Universe to a conflicted cop to a frightened victim of a helper monkey. With his all-American looks and distinctive voice, Beghe definitely isn't your average actor.

Beghe's career defines the phrase "journeyman actor." He's the state trooper Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) tie up and leave in the trunk of his car on their way to the lip of the Grand Canyon; he's also the urbane Richard Bates in "Californication," in a battle to coax his ex-wife back into marrying him. Beghe even headed another short-lived drama; for 13 episodes, he and Moira Kelly starred in "To Have and to Hold," playing newlyweds coping with their oversized family. It takes a lot of talent to credibly play both the lead in "Atlas Shrugged II" and a stern but caring trooper in the underrated "American Dreams." Beghe did it, and he did it while making it look easy. Here are his three best and three worst films or television series.

Maligned when it was released and turned into a joke during the Chris Rock-Will Smith Oscar fracas, "G.I. Jane" deserves a full-on critical reappreciation after taking the brunt of too much snark. 

The film revolves around Jordan O'Neill (Demi Moore), a topographic analyst who finds herself at the center of a maelstrom when she joins the boot camp for a U.S. Navy Special Warfare Group. This is SEAL training, and it's tough and demeaning enough to make grown men cry; back in the 1990s, it was believed that women like Jordan didn't have a place in this program. 

The film is about her struggle to both succeed and be treated just like any other recruit. O'Neill joins in at the behest of Texas Senator Lillian DeHaven (Anne Bancroft), who seems to be making a point about sexism but is actually willing to throw O'Neill into the fire to get what she wants for her district. Jason Beghe puts in a great, magnetic performance as Royce Harper, the lieutenant commander who happens to be Jordan's lover and struggles with the momentous choice she's making. Standing out among the macho figures littering Jordan's life, Royce ends up providing her with a safe romantic harbor.

Thanks to some mixed reviews and a poor box office take despite it being the most popular film in America for two weeks in a row, it deserves to be reevaluated as a solid military drama. Sure, it has some clichés, and its don't-ask-don't-tell era subplot in which Jordan is nearly drummed out of the program thanks to falsified intel that she's gay is antiquated – but it's mostly riveting stuff, and Beghe's gentle performance helps make it a standout.

"1st and 10" served as one of HBO's earliest attempts at a comedy series. While the show is little remembered these days — and if it is at all, it's because O.J. Simpson was a main cast member — it's a solid, reliably funny comedy that had a decent six-season run, even though it had a lot of major cast turnovers during its time on the air. And it has some of Jason Beghe's best comedic work — heck, it even comes complete with a laugh track and moments of sincere drama.

The series is all about the hapless California Bulls, a football team with a long line of losses behind them. Enter Diane Barrow (Delta Burke), who now owns the team thanks to her divorce settlement. Diane is determined to whip the team into shape and turn a profit. Beghe's Tom Yinessa ends up being part of that plan during Season 2. The team's new walk-on quarterback gains local fame and soon has to cope with that along with the pressures of performing. Yinessa is a nice guy, but he has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. By the time Season 4 rolls around, the character is long gone.

"1st & 10" proves Beghe can do comedy, and it plunked him into a leading man position where he immediately aced the assignment. That's something not every person can say, but it's something he managed to do without breaking an acting sweat.

"Monkey Shines" provided Jason Beghe with his first major role as a leading man, and he made a memorable impression by using the terror in his voice and eyes to convey the seriousness of the situation. 

In the film, Beghe plays Allan Mann, who's been rendered quadriplegic thanks to a car accident. His friend brings him a capuchin monkey to use as a service animal, without telling Allan that he's given her a special serum to boost her brainpower. Allan names the monkey Ella, and initially, they bond very well. But medical intervention has given Allan and Ella what appears to be a special — and terrible — mental connection, and he comes to realize that he must stop her before she kills his new love, Melanie (Kate McNeil).

It's a premise that could be goofy in the hands of someone less masterful than Beghe, but here, he makes Allan's horror at being the nexus of death and destruction feel terrifyingly real. With his character's accident limiting the ways he can convey the nightmare, Beghe is masterful and puts forth a sharp horror performance.

It's a TV movie-based "Home Alone" sequel. If that doesn't set off alarm bells in your head, know that "Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House" is the first "Home Alone" movie made with no input from John Hughes, and one that brings back none of its original cast. It's also a film that wrenches apart its central family to give little Kevin McCallister (Mike Weinberg) divorce angst. Of course, he manages to put his parents back together, though not through any intentional machination on his part.

Beghe takes up the mantle of Peter McCallister from John Heard, and those are mighty big shoes to fill. He does what he can, but the movie suffers in comparison to the greatness of its first two volumes. In it, Peter and Kate (Clare Carey) are in the middle of a divorce and Peter is set to marry the mean Natalie (Joanna Going) a woman so rich the royal family is staying with her for Christmas. So is Kevin, who causes mischief enough for his father — who has already lost Kevin in two big cities due to negligence — to threaten to banish him back to Kate's for the holiday. Kevin and the mansion end up being targeted by Marv (French Stewart, strangely resembling Harry instead) and his girlfriend, encouraging him to set up more anti-robber traps. 

Hilarity does not ensue, though that isn't Beghe's fault; the actors are mostly hamstrung by the broad writing. The "Home Alone" series would see a much bigger fall in years to come, but this is a lowlight for Beghe's career and the franchise at large.

America's always had a bit of a problem translating Japanese and Korean horror films into remakes for their market. When they succeed — see "The Grudge" series — they effectively transmute the dread and inky atmosphere into something fantastic. And then there's "One Missed Call," which fails to pass the test, leaving audiences bored stiff. 

The film follows a group of college students that is suddenly besieged by phone calls from unknown numbers. Every time a message is left, it presages the manner in which the person receiving the call will die. Beth Raymond (Shannyn Sossamon) is determined to untangle the curse's origins, with the help of Detective Jack Andrews (Edward Burns).

The original "One Missed Call" is partially about female rage and partially about motherhood, but the remake turns it into something that's an inch from "Final Destination" with a skosh of "The Ring." It ignores the poignancy and the genuine killing. Jason Beghe is a steadying presence as magician Ray Purvis, but he can't pull a rabbit out of the hat to make the film spring to life, and it ends up DOA.